Full story – The €5m shortfall that forced Barcelona to cancel Japan trip and the sudden U-turn | OneFootball

On Wednesday, around the time of Marcus Rashford’s presentation as their new signing, FC Barcelona announced that they would not travel to Japan for their pre-season friendly against Vissel Kobe.

The Blaugrana accused the promoter of the match of a breach of agreement due to non-payment of fees and called off the trip.

Earlier today, though, it came to light that the trip to Japan was back on as the issue between the concerned parties had been resolved.

What really happened?

Now, according to Ferran Correas of SPORT, Barcelona had agreed to receive €15 million for a tour consisting of three friendly matches and a series of promotional events in Japan and South Korea.

However, only €10 million had been paid. And it was the €5 million shortfall that triggered the temporary suspension of the tour.

The €15 million fee, agreed with the organiser, D-Drive, covered three scheduled matches and accompanying promotional activities. As of this week, full payment had not been secured.

Joan Laporta was frustrated by the delays in payment. (Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images)

Barcelona were supposed to receive the funds before departing for Kobe, on a flight arranged by the promoter from Tokyo. Issues between D-Drive and its main sponsor led to repeated delays. The outstanding amount was related specifically to the Japan segment.

These delays ultimately exhausted the patience of club president Joan Laporta.

Familiar face steps in

Laporta’s stand had immediate consequences. On Thursday morning, action was taken in Japan to resolve the situation, given that a breach of contract of this scale could carry legal implications.

Rakuten, the main sponsor of Vissel Kobe and a former sponsor of FC Barcelona, intervened to cover the shortfall.

Rakuten stepped in to settle the debt on the condition that the players boarded a flight to Kobe that same day, allowing enough time to prepare for the scheduled match on Sunday.

Despite everything, Vissel Kobe had already begun selling tickets for the match. However, several planned promotional events for Friday and Saturday were cancelled.

Barcelona received payment guarantees on Thursday morning and reversed their decision, opting to proceed with the tour and board the flight to Japan.

However, the club insist that they receive the payment before boarding the plane while Rakuten want the team to be on en route before paying – a standoff that needs to be resolved.